Postoperative Opioid Prescription Reduction Strategy in a Regional Healthcare System

The CDC reported in 2017 that the largest increments in probability of continued use were observed after days 5 and 31 on opioid therapy. This study demonstrates the correlation between a system-wide pain management and opioid stewardship effort with reductions in discharge prescriptions for elective surgical patients.

Discharge prescriptions were monitored through the electronic health record. Baseline prescribing patterns were established for the first quarter of 2018, preceding the first intervention in the multipronged opioid reduction initiative. Beginning in the second quarter of 2018, a series of pain management and opioid stewardship educational conferences were provided. Enhanced Recovery after Surgery protocols were simultaneously implemented system-wide. In the third quarter of 2018, a quality metric linked to compensation rewarded surgeons for limiting postoperative discharge prescriptions to 5 or fewer days. Opioid prescriptions were compared by quarter from January 2018 to March 2019 using chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis test with significance of p < 0.05.

There were 31,814 patients who underwent elective surgical procedures during the study period. At baseline, the rate of postoperative opioid prescriptions of 5 or fewer days was 81%. This rate increased to 82%, 86%, 89%, and 92% in each successive quarter (p < 0.0001 for quarters 3 to 5).

A system-wide, multipronged pain management and opioid reduction program significantly reduced opioid discharge prescriptions written for more than 5 days. This approach can serve as a model for other healthcare systems attempting to reduce opioid prescribing and combat the opioid crisis in the US.